Hardwick Hall Hotel, where the party was held, said suggestions the event was out of control were ‘a complete fabrication’.
Photograph: Hardwick Hall Hotel

A university champagne society has been investigated after concerns were raised about students taking drugs, openly having sex and jumping naked into a pond during a summer ball earlier this year.

Police were called to Durham University champagne society’s event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, near Sedgefield, in June after reports of rowdy behaviour.

The £99-per-head party, attended by 1,300 people, was featured in society magazine Tatler and it offered a 27-litre bottle of champagne as a raffle prize. “Students rocked up to Hardwick Hall to chat, dance and most importantly drink rivers of fizz,” Tatler reported after the event.

A video of the ball showed students in formal dress enjoying glasses of champagne over a three-course dinner in a marquee. But the event became increasingly raucous, as partygoers began to drink champagne straight from the bottle and one sprayed it over the dance floor.

According to an official investigation by the chief executive of Durham students’ union, police had to be called to the event owing to the severity and volume of incidents that occurred.

Students’ union documents state that some female partygoers collapsed unconscious; one was carried away in a blanket by St John Ambulance volunteers. Evidence of cocaine use was also found.

Police ordered students out of the pond “on a number of occasions” and officers advised that the event should be shut down early owing to high levels of intoxication.

A letter from Sam Dale, Durham university’s deputy academic registrar, to Prof Graham Towl, the university’s pro-vice-chancellor, said police had told Dale that couples were openly having sex. Students were sick on police officers and in the coaches transporting them back to Durham.

Police reported to Dale that attendees were given drinks on arrival, plus two bottles of champagne each with their meal. The hotel took a further £45,000 over the bar.

Durham police said no one was seen taking drugs at the event and no arrests were made.

Responding to the students’ union investigation, the champagne society wrote: “No society in Durham has ever thrown a ball as big, grand and expensive as the summer ball that was held on June 5. Many students felt that this event was the best event that they had been to in the entirety of their time in Durham.

“However, due to the scale of the event, amongst other factors, we do recognise that there were problems at the ball and would like to thank the police for their report.”

Regarding police reports that students were vulnerable owing to the level of intoxication, the society added: “Laurent-Perrier delivered to us magnums instead of single bottles by accident. This vastly increased the amount of champagne that was made available to the students.”

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The champagne society’s Facebook page states it was set up in 2011 “in order to introduce students to the culture of champagne tasting”. The students’ union has put the society on probation until next term.

Dale said: “We had concerns about student safety at the champagne society summer ball and we shared these with the students’ union. We are pleased that they have since taken appropriate action.”

Durham University officials have taken a tough stance on alcohol consumption and reckless behaviour since three students drowned in the river Wear after nights out between 2013 and 2015. Oliver Sherratt, chair of Durham’s city safety group, said: “We would always urge people to take care around open water, to take responsibility for their personal safety and, if drinking alcohol, to do so in a safe and sensible way.”

Hardwick Hall refuted the claims. “Staff at the hotel saw absolutely no evidence of any of the alleged activities and it wasn’t until much later after the event that we were informed that two people had entered the lake,” a spokesman said.

“There were more than 1,000 people at this event and the majority of them were well behaved and had an enjoyable, incident-free evening.

“The insinuation that this event was out of control is, as far as the hotel is concerned, a complete fabrication.

“Hardwick Hall hosts hundreds of large-scale events – including many for Durham University – and these are highly successful and pass without incident.”